World's Collide: Book One
by Martel Irasia
Summary: Tethe'alla desperately needs a regeneration, but with the appearance of a mysterious girl, the world gains two Chosens of Mana. What will happen in this unusual journey? Story will follow Kratos and Yuan as they journey to protect the chosens, and the girl who seeks not only to save the world, but to return home. My first self-insert fic. Not Yaoi.
1. Glitch in the System?

**Okay, so here we are. I know I already have two Symphonia fics in the works right now, but with people constantly assuming my characters are self-inserts, I wanted to give everyone the right idea. So, this is my first self-insert fic, it will take place in Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. I wanted to do something different and fun with my first insert fic so... I hope you enjoy it.**

**This story idea was inspired both by Nightfoot's **_**First Steps**_** and by Alex traxel's **_**The Final Straw**_**. Felt I should give credit to the stories/authors that gave me inspiration.**

**Also, I don't think I need to tell you I do not own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss, or any of the characters already in either game. That right belongs to Namco-Bandai. All that I own are the OC's that I bring into the story. So, with that settled, I will get on to the first chapter.**

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**Chapter One - Glitch in the System?**

Kratos was on his way to see what it was that Mithos wanted this time when he heard some commotion coming from Yuan's room. No doubt the other seraph was busy working on another new contraption. The blue-haired angel was almost constantly working on some new technology or working to improve the technology he'd already created. So far he had built the computer system used here in Welgaia and in all the Desian Human Ranches. He had built the automatic doors, and had finally managed to make them work properly. And the latest creation Kratos could remember was a compact device used to contact others no matter the distance between them. If memory served, Yuan had called it a Communicator.

After thinking over all of that, Kratos sighed, realizing that Yuan probably hadn't heard the new summons from the leader of Cruxis. He walked over to the door and when it didn't open at his approach, he realized that it must be locked. That was another thing Yuan had worked out, was a way to lock the automatic doors so they wouldn't open when someone passed by. Kratos knocked on the door when it didn't open and waited. No doubt the blue-haired seraph had locked the door so he could work privately, but it wasn't like anyone here in Welgaia would bother to disturb his work. When Yuan didn't answer the door he knocked louder.

Ten whole minutes later the door slid open and Yuan looked out at him, looking disheveled from working all night. His expression told Kratos that he was clearly annoyed by the disturbance. "Kratos, what do you want?" He asked, barely concealing his annoyed tone.

"Mithos summoned us." Kratos replied simply, knowing that those three words alone would set the seraph into action.

Yuan sighed and disappeared back into his room for another minute or two. When he finally came back out he had fixed his hair and clothes and wore an odd look on his face. He masked it quickly though as he fell into step beside Kratos. "What does he want now?" Yuan asked.

Kratos shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out when we get there." He answered and watched Yuan carefully. The other seraph had been acting a little odd since he'd returned from the last regeneration journey. It was the second time a chosen had run off on him and gotten killed, so he couldn't be happy about that. Kratos knew Mithos certainly wasn't happy about it, because he'd had to start looking for another chosen again. He couldn't help but feel there was something going on with Yuan, but he was probably just being paranoid, so Kratos pushed the information to the back of his mind for now.

A few minutes later they entered the room where they usually met with Mithos. The blonde half-elf was currently in his older Lord Yggdrasill form, and was standing on the other side of the room, not looking at them. It didn't seem like he'd heard them walk in, though Kratos knew his hearing was as good as his own. Kratos thought about clearing his throat to alert the boy to their presence but decided it would be better not to. Yuan looked like he wanted to say something as well, but instead he just turned and stared at the wall.

"Have a seat, both of you." Mithos said after a moment.

They each sat in the chairs closest to them, though they were incredibly uncomfortable to sit in. There weren't a lot of chairs in Welgaia and most of those you could find weren't intended for use. After all, most of the residents were lifeless beings and had no need for them since they never got tired. Still, Kratos couldn't see why they didn't have at least some comfortable chairs.

Mithos kept them waiting for what seemed like forever before he turned to look at them. "We need to send another Chosen to regenerate Tethe'alla." He said.

Kratos frowned at that. "It's only been ten years since the last Chosen was picked." He replied. Sure the last chosen had died and so the journey had been left uncompleted, but still.

Mithos glared at him, which was quite a feat for the younger boy. "I know that, Kratos. But SOMEONE!" He turned his dark gaze onto Yuan. "Let her get herself killed." He finished angrily.

Yuan looked away from Mithos, trying not to roll his eyes at the younger half-elf turned leader of Cruxis. To be honest, he had let the girl run off on purpose to thwart Mithos' plan for her. It was the first time he'd actively tried to do something about this twisted system. Of course, he had lied about what happened, but Mithos had still punished him for letting her run off. He shrugged in response to Mithos glaring at him. "I turned my back for two minutes and she ran off on me. How is that my fault?" He asked, looking annoyed.

Mithos just glared at him for a moment longer before returning to the topic at hand. "Anyway, the closest chance we have for the next Chosen is this boy, Gabriel Valentine." Mithos said. "He lives in Ozette..."

"Another boy?!" Yuan nearly shouted, cutting Mithos off.

Mithos glared at him again, but this time there was a dangerous look in his eyes. "Is that a problem, Yuan?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Yuan glared back at Mithos for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. "No, of course not." He answered and the blonde looked away from him. He hated the idea of having another male Chosen, but Mithos clearly wasn't thinking straight anymore. It would be better to keep him happy for now.

Kratos watched them back and forth until Yuan gave in. He took a deep breath before speaking. "None of this explains why we're looking for another Chosen so soon." He said, though he'd already come to a possible reason for it. But he hoped he was wrong.

"The Regeneration can't wait any longer. The past four Chosens of Tethe'all all failed." Mithos explained. "The world needs a successful regeneration or it will die and the entire system will fall apart." He said, exasperated.

Kratos frowned, that was what he'd been afraid of. If Tethe'alla was as bad off as all that, then they couldn't afford to wait another ten or so years for a proper Chosen to appear.

"Anyway, I am sending both of you to escort the new Chosen." Mithos said.

"Wait! Both of us?!" Yuan exclaimed, looking slightly alarmed.

Kratos could understand why, usually Mithos sent one of them to escort and protect the Chosen and one of them would stay here and act as the Oracle. Either something was up or Mithos felt he couldn't trust them on their own.

Mithos looked at Yuan. "Yes, both of you. I want you to keep an eye on each other and the Chosen. We can't afford to have this journey fail, and right now I don't trust either of you with the Chosen alone." He said, angrily. "I will hear no complaints from either of you. I want you to leave immediately." The tone in Mithos' voice said there was no room for protest.

Kratos nodded and said nothing as he stood to leave the room. Yuan took a moment to stare at Mithos before following the auburn haired seraph out of the room. He had to admit that Kratos had the better idea to just not say anything. But Yuan needed to vent his frustration at the current situation.

When they were far enough away from the room that Yuan was certain Mithos wouldn't hear him, he started ranting. "I can't believe he wants us to babysit each other as well as the Chosen. This is absolutely ridiculous! I have others things I need to work on!" He finished, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Kratos remained silent the whole time, knowing it was better to let his friend rant. It would be for the better if he got his anger out now before they picked up the new Chosen. But he was wondering what was so important to do that Yuan was angry about having to leave the city. He wanted to ask, but Yuan had been acting odd lately, so even if he asked there was little possibility he would get a decent answer.

They turned a corner and when they got close, Yuan split off to go into his room to start packing for the journey. Kratos continued on into his own room and began gathering any useful items they might need. He had a few gels stored away from the last journey he'd been on. Considering they didn't go bad they could still be used. After he took care of that, he paused and stared at the wall. Something felt off, and he had the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He shook his head and pushed the feeling back for now and headed back towards Yuan's room.

The blue-haired seraph hadn't left the room yet and he could hear him moving around inside. Kratos sighed and leaned up against the wall for now as he waited for Yuan. A few minutes later, the door slid open and Yuan walked out, a small silver cube in his hand. He glanced over at Kratos before he put the wing pack away. About ten years ago when Yuan had returned from the failed regeneration journey he had set about retrieving all the items from his old wing pack. He knew the other had it from during the Kharlan War, so it was no surprise when it finally broke down after giving up the last item stored inside it. Yuan had begrudgingly replaced it with a new one.

"Let's get this over with." Yuan said sharply, pulling Kratos from his thoughts.

Kratos nodded and stepped away from the wall as they both headed for the warp out of Welgaia. Yuan couldn't help but wonder what went on in Kratos' head sometimes. The former human was always so calm and rational and always looked like he was thinking of something, or planning three steps ahead. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that he was so cautious, after all it had helped the human stay alive during their first journey centuries ago to stop the Kharlan War. Still, the man's mind was a complete mystery to him except on certain matters, and even then he could never really tell what the other was thinking.

As they approached the exit, a blur of white and green came rushing out from the next area over. Suddenly, a white and green cat had jumped up and climbed to Kratos' shoulder. Strangely though, the protozoan had gained one new color to his fur, a light blue-grey color. Mostly it was on his paws and stomach while he had green fringe on his ears and tail and green stripes on his back.

Kratos smiled and gently ran his hand over the cat's back. "Hello Noishe." He said and received a mewl from the cat.

Yuan looked over at the former human turned angel and the cat-shaped protozoan before he shook his head. He hadn't been around when Noishe had changed forms this time. He stepped onto the warp and felt the familiar, yet peculiar feeling, of having his molecules rearranged as the area around him blurred and changed. When his vision cleared, he was standing in the tower warp and stepped off to wait for Kratos. It was even more eerily quiet in here than usual.

Only a moment later, Kratos appeared, Noishe still standing on his shoulder and looking out around the tower. Yuan looked at the other angel and nodded before they both left the tower in relative silence. Neither of them wanted to talk about the current situation, he guessed. By unspoken consent, they pulled out their wings and took to the air to fly to Ozette.

Noishe dug his claws in and clung to Kratos as they flew and he imagined the protozoan missed being able to fly. When Ozette came into sight, they descended and landed on the outskirts of the little village. It would be suspicious enough just walking into the village, but flying in would cause more commotion than it was worth.

As they entered the locals watched them suspiciously, and spoke in hushed whispers to one another. Kratos heard a few people talking about the strange men and a few other comments about how the 'blue-haired one is a half-elf.' As a result, people were glaring at Yuan more than at Kratos, who was clearly human. Stranger or not, humans were more welcome here than half-elves. Especially when you took into consideration the fact that there was a Desian ranch located on the other side of the forest. Even with that knowledge, Ozette had often been a much more racist town than any other in Tethe'alla, even before the world was separated.

In most cases he would suggest they split up to find information, but knowing the Ozette locals, Yuan would only be treated like any half-elf. It would be better if they stayed together then, just to avoid any unnecessary trouble. "Let's start by looking for information at the church." Kratos said and Yuan simply nodded, trying not to look at any of the locals.

Ozette was separated into tiers, or different levels, the pathways connecting each level were formed from giant tree roots. The lowest level contained the residential area where the people lived. The middle tier consisted of the Inn, a Tavern, and the different shops. Lastly, the top level was where the Church and school house had been built.

As they began walking to the upper level, the people watched them with even more suspicion. Kratos ignored the looks and knew that Yuan was doing the same. The sooner they collected the Chosen and left this village behind, the better. When they reached the top of the path, they could see the Church and headed inside. There was no service being held right now, but there were people here cleaning the floors and windows. No one bothered to look up and watch them, except for a priest and a young teenage boy, watching them with curiosity.

Kratos looked over at Yuan and then back at the pair. The boy was most likely Gabriel. It was uncanny how much he looked like Mithos, except that he was perhaps a year or two older and had blue-green eyes instead of just blue. But he had the same shade of blond hair, and the length of it was about the same.

Kratos walked away from Yuan to talk to he priest, who smiled slightly as he approached.

"Is there something I can do for you, sir?" The priest asked in a polite tone. Kratos noticed the smile didn't reach the man's eyes.

"I am looking for a boy named Gabriel Valentine." Kratos answered.

The blond boy gasped and hid behind the priest. Kratos resisted the urge to smile and laugh at how easy it was to find him. He kept his expression neutral and waited for the priest to reply. Judging from the way people were acting in this village, he was probably going to be lied to.

The priest pretended to think about it for a while. "I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that name. Perhaps you should try looking somewhere else." He said.

Kratos frowned at the priest's answer, but wasn't disappointed that he'd been right about the lie. He decided to play along, so he shrugged as he turned away. "That's too bad. We really need to find him quickly." He said in a defeated tone. "I thank you for your time." Kratos began walking away from the priest.

"Just a curious question..." The priest began and Kratos turned back to look at him. "But what is so important about this Gabriel Valentine?" The priest asked.

Kratos turned back to the priest. "He's the Chosen One." He said and watched as the boy stepped out from behind the priest, who suddenly looked alarmed.

"I'm... the Chosen?" The boy asked, awed.

Yuan watched, amazed at how Kratos handled the situation here. He watched as the auburn haired man nodded at the boy, who turned to smile at the priest. He sighed and stepped forward himself. "We were sent by Cruxis to escort the Chosen, Gabriel, on the journey to regenerate the world." He said and the boy turned to look at him.

Yuan was shocked by how open and friendly the boy seemed. Other people had looked up and glared at him when he spoke, but Gabriel was smiling kindly. Even though the boy was human and Yuan was clearly a half-elf, the boy Chosen didn't seem to resent him. It was a bit unnerving, but he decided not to let it get to him right now.

The priest looked even more startled than before. "I am sorry for lying to you, my lords. It's just that... we can never be too careful these days." He said as he bowed to them slightly.

Kratos waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine." He said and turned his gaze onto Gabriel. "Do you have any family? We should let them know about the journey you need to leave on soon."

The blond boy nodded. "Yes, my mother should be home with my younger brother." He answered easily.

Kratos nodded. "We should let them know what is going on before we go. As soon as that's settled, we need to leave immediately." He said.

Gabriel nodded calmly and then turned to the priest, smiling. "Thank you so much for everything." He bowed to the man slightly before walking over towards Yuan and the exit. "I'll lead the way to my house." He said.

"Please do." Yuan said as politely as he could manage. The boy was closer to him than to Kratos right now. He didn't really want to be here right now, but considering the past few journeys, he couldn't blame Mithos for not trusting them. Kratos often grew attached to the Chosen, and Yuan had made a few mistakes, though he was loath to admit it.

The blond led the way without hesitation, walking out of the church and down into the lower levels of town. Yuan and Kratos followed him in relative silence and noticed the people were still suspicious of them, but seemed less worried seeing them with Gabriel. Obviously the boy was well liked here and people trusted him, so although they still got dark looks, no one approached them.

The residential area of the village was really small, with about ten houses making up the area. Ozette didn't often see many travelers, so most of the people you saw in the village lived there. Gabriel glanced back to make sure they were still following as he walked to the house in the farthest corner. If he had to walk from his home to the church every day it was no wonder why everyone liked him. He probably saw all the townsfolk and helped them out every day.

"Mom, I'm home!" Gabriel called out as he opened the front door and walked inside. He turned and motioned for them to follow as well.

The doorway was a bit short for either of them, so they each had to bend down a little bit just to enter the house. Kratos and Yuan exchanged a look before taking in the appearance of the room. It was a quaint little home, the furnishings as simple as can be. And judging from the smell, they'd had trouble with fire burning down the house more than once.

"GABRIEL!" A voice shouted. Suddenly, a very young boy rushed out of the back room and ran to the blond, hugging him around the legs. The boy had short, light brown hair and when he looked past his brother at the strangers, they could see his emerald green eyes. Further still, the points of his ears could be seen through his hair.

Gabriel laughed slightly and pat the boy on the head as someone else emerged from the back room. A robust woman in her early thirties stood looking at them. Her chestnut hair was rolled up in a thick bun at the back of her head, and her crystal blue eyes reflected the scene she saw. After a moment, she smiled and walked over, scooping the young boy up into her arms.

"You're home early, Gabriel. I thought you were going to be working at the church all day." She said.

Gabriel shuffled his feet and looked at the floor. "I was, but... um, something... came up." He said slowly, not meeting his mother's gaze.

Her gaze flickered over to Kratos and Yuan and she nodded. "I can see that." She said and frowned. "I hope my son hasn't done anything wrong."

Kratos shook his head. "On the contrary. We were sent by Cruxis to find your son." Her eyes widened at that. "He is the next Chosen of Mana." Kratos finished.

The woman regarded Kratos closely for a few minutes before she looked at her son and back. Her gaze lowered and she sounded tired. "I see." She said. "Gabriel, why don't you go pack your things?"

Gabriel seemed confused by his mother's attitude, but he nodded and walked off into another room. The woman turned back to them with a frown on her face. "I don't like this, but I can't deny that the world needs to be regenerated." She sighed and put the small boy in her arms down onto the floor, where he then clung to her skirt. "I wish it didn't have to be my son."

Kratos glanced at Yuan before he turned to Gabriel's mother. "You know what this means, don't you?" He asked gently.

She smiled, but it was a sad, lonely smile. "Yes, of course I know what this means. You're taking my son to his death." She said softly to prevent Gabriel from hearing her.

"I am sorry about this, Ma'am." Kratos began, but she held up a hand.

"Save your sentiments." She said sharply. "I understand why it needs to happen, but it doesn't change the way I feel about it."

The little boy was staring at Yuan. "You're like me." He said in awe.

The woman looked down at her youngest son and then glanced at Yuan. "You are a half-elf." She said softly. There wasn't a question in her voice, and no suspicion, but she didn't take her eyes off him now.

Yuan nodded, there was no point hiding it since the boy had made notice of his race. "I trust that's not a problem?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Of course not. Just, keep my son safe, will you?"

Yuan took a deep breath and nodded. "We will do everything he can." He replied. Personally he'd rather let the boy get killed to stop this ridiculous cycle of life and death, but he couldn't do that with Kratos around. So he would have to keep the chosen safe regardless.

Just then, Gabriel reappeared and looked at all of them, a bag over his shoulder. He walked over and hugged his mother.

"You be safe, Gabriel." His mother said and hugged him back. "Now get going and regenerate the world."

Gabriel smiled. "I will."

Minutes later, they were leaving Ozette behind to go to the nearby temple to get his Cruxis crystal. They walked in silence as the temple came into sight. Kratos suddenly had that strange feeling again from earlier, and looked around to see if there was a reason for it. Yuan noticed his suspicion and walked over to see what was going on he was sure when it happened.

There was a sudden bright flash of light, and something that sound like a loud 'POP!' When the light died down, Kratos rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and looked around. His eyes, as well as Yuan's, fell on the strange girl lying on the ground in front of them. She had long green hair and was wearing a green and black top that extended slightly into a skirt, with tight white pants and green flat shoes. Exposed on her chest was a green gem set into the middle of a golden leaf, it looked like a Key Crest.

Kratos looked over at Yuan and saw that he was wearing the same expression. For once, they were both thinking the same thing. This girl looked like Martel, but where had she come from?

* * *

_Earlier that day, in another world..._

Artemis couldn't help but look herself over in the mirror for the fifteenth time, turning her head from side to side. The green wig sat on her head just right, and the contacts she was wearing changed the entire appearance of her face. Not only because she wasn't wearing her glasses any more but because she was so used to looking at her normally hazel brown eyes. She smiled brightly and spun around before looking at her reflection again. She was dressed like Martel the Summon Spirit, partly because she couldn't find a decent cosplay of Martel as an ordinary person.

A few weeks back she had organized and invited her friends to a Tales party she wanted to have. Everyone would be dressed up and they could play games and chat and just have fun. Today was that day, and she had been determined to dress as Martel, knowing that no one else wanted to. Not because Martel wasn't a well-liked character, but because the main characters were apparently more fun to dress up as.

Minutes ago she had called in an order for pizza, and she had taken half the morning to bake treats and to get ready. Her friends would be here any minute, so she sighed and rushed down the stairs. She checked on the cooling pastries one last time when the door bell rang. A smile on her face, she went over to the door and opened it.

Her friends Melissa and Josh were standing at the door, dressed as Lloyd and Colette. "Hey guys, come on in." Artemis smiled and stepped out of the way so her friends could enter the house. At that moment, her four month old kitten, Snickers, decided to run down the stairs and down the hall into the kitchen.

Her friends laughed at the kitten's hyper activity. Artemis merely smiled and shook her head as she closed the door. "Help yourselves to any snacks, okay?" She said.

"I'd rather have a tour of your house." Josh said.

Artemis rolled her eyes, but smiled widely. "Okay, but upstairs is off limits since that's where the bedrooms are." She said and showed them around. It was a decent sized house she lived in with her mom, but even then, there wasn't a lot to show off. But her friends seemed impressed by the house anyway as the door bell rang again. Artemis left the couple to talk as she opened the door for the new arrivals.

Now she had Jade and Asch standing on her doorstep and she smiled, recognizing Laura and Chris. She let them inside and showed them around as well when the pizza showed up. Artemis hurried to get her money and paid the delivery guy for the pizza before taking it inside and putting it down on the counter. "Dig in guys. I'm still waiting on Emma, but there's no good letting pizza go to waste." She said with a smile.

When her phone started ringing, she checked the caller ID before picking it up. "Hey, Emma. Where are-?" She stopped as she listened. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she gets better soon." She said and hung up. Her other friends were all looking at her. "Emma can't make it, her mom just got brought to the hospital."

They all looked shocked as questions broke out among them. What happened? Was she alright? Among many more. Artemis nodded and smiled, answering as best she could with the little information she'd been given. "Anyway, looks like it's just us, so... why don't we have some fun?" She asked.

They all continued eating their pizza and chatting for a while. Eventually the conversation died down and Artemis found herself shifting under the uncomfortable stares of her friends.

"So, what's the plan now?" Josh asked, looking up at her from where he was sitting.

Artemis tapped her foot on the floor as she thought about her plan for the day. Things were partially ruined because Emma wasn't able to come, but the basic plan was still the same. She bit her lip in thought for a few minutes more and then looked around at the expectant faces.

"Well, I was hoping we could start by playing Tales of Symphonia for a while. And then we could play Tales of the Abyss, or Tales of Vesperia. And I was sort of hoping we could do a LARP of some sort." She said.

Josh nodded, smiling. "Sounds cool." He replied. "Oh, before I forget, there is something I wanted to show you with Symphonia."

Artemis frowned at that. "What is it?" She asked. She was pretty darn certain that she had experienced everything with that game so far. What could he have possibly uncovered that she hadn't?

Josh smiled knowingly. "It's really not much, but I discovered a glitch in the game when I was messing around one day." He answered. "It only works on the Wii console, though."

She bit her lip, not really willing to let him mess with her game, but she was too curious to resist. "Alright, show me." She said after thinking it over. If the game became ruined, she could always get another one later. It wasn't the best thing to do, but she really wanted to see this glitch.

"Cool, give me a minute." Josh said as he turned the console on and began doing things in a certain order.

Eventually he went to turn the game itself on and Artemis bit her lip, feeling a sudden tightness in her chest. She was sure it wasn't normal, but she ignored the feeling. When they got past the company names and titles, the Opening movie started, only... there was something different about it. She couldn't quite place what it was, but something felt off.

After the opening they were at the main menu screen, only there was an added option on the screen. Josh was staring at it oddly. "That's never happened before." He said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

Artemis looked carefully at the new words 'Cruxis Crystal Mode.' She grabbed the controller, curious to investigate the new option, so she clicked on it. For a while nothing happened and she bit her lip, disappointed. Suddenly an image appeared on the screen of a green gem set into a leaf-shaped Key Crest. The others all looked shocked, especially when it suddenly disappeared from the screen. The controller vibrated in her hands and she looked down in alarm as the crystal reappeared on her exposed chest.

"What the-" Her friends all shouted in alarm. Their eyes were wide as they looked at her and the gem.

Tentatively, she touched he gem and cool metal and tried to take it off. A sharp spike of pain shot through her and she stopped trying. When the pain died down, she anxiously looked at her friends, realizing the crest was fused to her skin.

"Guys? What's... happening?" She asked as her eyes grew wider. This simply couldn't be happening, the world in the game wasn't real, and yet she now had a real crystal and crest fused to her.

"Artemis?" Melissa spoke up, but her voice sounded far away, like there was a wall between them.

Artemis felt a ripple in the air as her vision became distorted. A sense of fear came over her as it felt like her molecules were being torn apart and rearranged. She opened her mouth and screamed as a sudden flash of light exploded around her. As sudden as the light came, darkness soon engulfed her. The pain in her head returned and became more intense than before. She tried to close her mind from the pain. The next thing she knew, there was nothing. No fear, no pain, no anxiety. Everything had gone, except for the sickening sensation that she was falling from a great height. She opened her mouth to scream again, but no sound came out, and then the fear came back. She feared that she was dying, and if she wasn't, that she would be trapped with this falling sensation forever.

Finally, a strange calm settled over her and she no loner felt like she was falling. She was lying on solid ground now and she could hear voices around her. Was she going crazy now? She had always believed that she was crazy when compared to other people, but she'd never thought she would hear voices. She hoped that she wasn't losing her mind, and after a moment, she realized she recognized two of the voices nearby.

"Where did she come from?" Yuan's voice asked, sounding surprised.

"Chosen, don't get too close." Kratos' voice said, ignoring Yuan.

"Who is she?" The third, unfamiliar voice asked. Artemis assumed this was the Chosen Kratos had spoken to. "Her hair looks fake." The voice said after a moment of silence.

"What?!" Yuan exclaimed. She heard footsteps draw near.

"Look!" She imagined the Chosen was pointing at her forehead. No doubt they would see her hairline where the wig separated from her natural hair.

"What in the name of Martel-?" Kratos began, but stopped himself.

Artemis figured now would be as good a time as any to wake up. Her limbs weren't listening to her at the moment, but she felt her eyelids twitch. Her eyes fluttered open and she heard all of them gasp. She had to blink against the glaring light of the sun above. Artemis cringed as she slowly sat up, willing her body to listen to her. A throbbing pain echoed in her head from earlier. "Ow." She managed to say aloud as she gripped her head. She had to blink a few more times to clear her vision properly, but when her vision cleared she looked up at them. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized she couldn't possibly be dreaming. Not only because of the pain she felt, but everything looked too real.

* * *

**Okay, last minute disclaimer. I want this to be a combined story, but in a different way, so I've decided to split this particular self-insert idea into three parts. The first part, here... is going to take place strictly in Symphonia. Namely in Tethe'alla, but still. Book two will be in Auldrant, and book three will combine the worlds and characters, so... yeah. Might be a bit complicated to do it that way, but it works out in my head.**

**Anyway, this is the first chapter, and I hope you found it enjoyable. Next chapter I will try to split between the different character perspectives as much as possible, so you get a good idea of what everyone is thinking and doing at each point in the story... Okay, so... until next time.**


	2. Mysterious Girl

**To give some clarity to people, the reason why I'll be uploading this so slowly is because I am trying to get my ideas out on paper before I put them online. So I have typing and editing to do in order to make it all good for you guys. Anyway, I hope you liked the last chapter and that you'll like this next one too.**

**Also, just to recap. This story takes place in Tethe'alla. Symphonia world only.**

**I do not own Tales of Symphonia.**

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**Chapter 2 - Mysterious Girl**

Kratos, Yuan and a young blond boy were all staring at her. What was strange to Artemis was that the blond looked incredibly familiar. It took her a minute to place the reason why, but when she figured it out, she gasped and received even stranger looks from the group. The blond looked just like her character, Gabriel Valentine. She'd had it in her head for him to be one of Tethe'alla's Chosens, one of the few who successfully completed the journey. She'd never gotten around to writing about his journey though, and he'd mostly remained as a character in her head. Gabriel shifted uncomfortably beneath her gaze and she realized she'd begun staring off into space in his direction.

Artemis took a deep breath to try and calm her racing thoughts. A moment later she looked at herself and realized she was still wearing the Martel cosplay. As she tried to stand up, strands of the synthetic green hair fell in front of her face and she brushed it out of the way with her hand. She bit her lip and got to her feet, her legs were a little shaky beneath her, but at least she could stand on her own power. Frowning, she brushed the dirt from her clothes and then noticed dirt and grass stains on her white pants. She sighed in frustration knowing she wouldn't get them out.

The three guys continued to stare at her but she ignored them for another moment to take a look around the area. She wasn't sure exactly where she was, even though she knew they couldn't be far from Ozette. After all, Gabriel didn't have his Cruxis Crystal yet, so he'd only just started his journey. She spotted the temple just a matter of minutes away and smiled before glancing at Gabriel.

"Um, w-what are you smiling about?" Gabriel asked nervously, noticing the look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Artemis said, her eyes widening when he spoke to her. She had created his character in her head after all, it felt weird for him to be real and talking to her. "You're the Chosen, right?" She asked instead, changing the subject. She wasn't trying to direct attention away from her odd behavior and appearance, though Kratos and Yuan might view it that way. Mostly, she was just confused and a little excited.

Gabriel nodded his head slowly, worried this might be a trick question. "Y-yes, I am." He said.

"Cool!" Artemis exclaimed happily, surprising all of them. Gabriel had jumped a little and both Kratos and Yuan seemed like they were reaching for their weapons. "Mind if I join you?" She asked, beaming at them.

Kratos stepped in front of Gabriel and glared at her. "Who are you?" He asked.

Artemis looked at him and although the glare was VERY intimidating, this was Kratos she was looking at. She didn't take well to people trying to intimidate and scare her so she wasn't fazed by his look. Instead she smiled. "That's a scary look." She said, waving her hand lazily. "Anyway, I'm Artemis. Artemis Silvaen." She answered.

Kratos narrowed his eyes, but after a moment relaxed his stance. She knew that she hadn't lied and he probably picked up on that. "We need to keep moving." He said, looking back at Gabriel.

Artemis smiled and scratched the back of her head, but the wig got in the way. Not only was it beginning to itch more, but it was also making her sweaty. "Hold on a minute." She said and started pulling the pins out. On a wig this long she needed the extra support to keep it in place. With a sigh, she pulled the last one out and took the wig off, breathing a sigh of relief as the wind could finally get to her head and neck properly. She smiled and brushed a hand through her very short, boyishly cut auburn hair. "That feels better." She said.

"I knew that hair was fake!" Gabriel exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Artemis smiled sheepishly and wavered under the suspicious glares coming from Yuan and Kratos. She rubbed the back of her neck and a nervous laugh escaped her lips. "Yeah, sorry about that." She said, trying to think of a convincing lie to tell them. "I've been trying to hide my true identity for a long time. I forget about the fake hair most of the time. Please don't hold it against me." She said.

"Oh, who are you hiding from?" Gabriel asked, concern in his voice. It looked like the two seraphs weren't buying her story, but then it was a blatant lie anyway.

Artemis lowered her gaze to the ground in front of her. "I've... been running from the Desians." She said, sadly. She did her best to sound convincing. Honestly, she couldn't tell them the truth, about how she was from a different world. Who could possibly believe such a story? Well, Yuan and Kratos might be able to believe it, but... still.

"Desians." Gabriel spoke in a whisper. His father had been taken by them when he was little, it was part of his tragic history. He looked up at her, a determined spark in his eyes. "You can come with us." He said.

"Chosen." Kratos and Yuan both spoke the word, ready to scold the boy for agreeing to let her join them.

"It's my choice, right? I'm the Chosen, and I say she's coming with us." Gabriel said, turning to them.

Yuan huffed and crossed his arms across his chest, looking away from them. Kratos just stared at Gabriel and glanced at her for a moment before sighing. "Very well, Chosen. But if she turns out to be an enemy, this is on you." He said.

Artemis feigned surprise before she smiled brightly. "Thank you so much. I'll do everything I can to help out." She said.

* * *

Yuan watched the girl carefully, she was highly suspicious and strange. He was certain she was lying about her disguise, but he didn't want to confront her about it right now. If anything, her unusual behavior might well benefit his own plans. If he could convince her to help him take care of the Chosen, he wouldn't have to take the blame for it. But either way, she was unnerving. Her green eyes reminded him of Martel. They were the same shade of green and they had the same innocence, wisdom and warmth to them. All in all, the girl didn't make sense, having appeared out of thin air, and with that crystal on her chest no less. Not to mention her personality was unlike anyone he'd ever met before. Whether she lied about something or not, she was going to be difficult to figure out.

At least she had been honest about her name, if not about her past. That knowledge alone might help to manipulate her later. Kratos stepped closer to the blond Chosen. "We need to keep moving." He said calmly.

Gabriel turned and looked at Kratos, wide-eyed. "Oh, right. Sorry." The boy said.

As they started moving, Artemis fell into step beside Gabriel as they neared the temple. She seemed oddly familiar with him even though the blond had no idea who she was. That was perhaps even stranger. Yuan hoped he wasn't looking too deep into this, but something told him the girl was trouble. It was odd to see that her natural hair color was the same as Kratos. Well, at least she didn't look anything like the auburn haired seraph. He could at least rule out any possible relation there.

The doors to the old temple were falling off their hinges, the wood rotted and falling apart. Gabriel didn't look too impressed by the building, but the girl seemed oddly excited. Kratos tried to ignore both of them as he led the way inside. Yuan decided he would take the rear and waited for them to go inside before he followed.

"It looks so... creepy." Gabriel hesitated at the door.

Artemis had walked inside and turned to look at him. She walked over and grabbed his hand, smiling. "Come on, it'll be fun. Like an adventure." She said, eagerly. The blond looked at her and nodded, letting her pull him inside.

_Yeah, one big adventure that ends in death._ Yuan thought bitterly as he watched them.

Artemis paused and then turned to glare at him, her eyes narrowed in anger. Wait, had she heard him? That was impossible, he hadn't said anything out loud, right? And no one he knew of in this world could read minds. Yuan noticed she shook her head and walked further into the temple with Gabriel. He sighed and looked back at the rotting door. What he wouldn't give to be back in Welgaia right about now.

If only he could figure this girl out as well. If she had the ability to read minds, that would come in useful. He would have to see if it was possible to learn how later. Maybe she could do more than that, but only time would tell.

* * *

She was certain she'd heard Yuan say something, but the look she'd seen on his face told her he hadn't said it out loud. So, what? She could read minds now? And if that was true, where had the power come from? Artemis frowned as she thought about it. She couldn't figure it out and it was frustrating. Was it possible for her to have other powers here as well? Was it her own ability, or was it an effect from the crystal? There were too many questions right now.

Lost in her thoughts, she couldn't see that Kratos had stopped walking ahead of her. Without warning, she bumped into him and fell back on her ass. Kratos barely looked at her before turning to look for danger again. Gabriel was more inclined to help her and offered his hand. She smiled and let him help her back onto her feet.

All of a sudden, she sensed something. There was a strange feeling in the air, but that's not what had her attention. There was some... _thing_, moving in the darkness ahead. A chill crept down her spine well before the putrid odor of decay reached her nose. Shambling towards them out of the darkness was a zombie. Several of them, in fact.

Kratos drew his sword while Yuan summoned his weapon from a wing pack. Gabriel backed away from the hall and folded his hands together. She could tell he had no weapon, and he was human. Well, she didn't have a weapon either, but that wasn't going to stop the zombies from attacking. The appearance of the zombies made her shudder. These were nothing like the ones in the movies or on TV, they were... so much... _WORSE._ Each one was in a varying stage of decay and the smell coming off them was... too awful for words. She had never liked zombie films and anything pertaining to the topic gave her the shivers.

A purple glow emanated from behind her and she turned to see the glyph below Yuan's feet as Kratos chose that moment to rush forward. He cut down one zombie and parried the attack of another. As Kratos was taking down a third zombie, the glyph beneath Yuan's feet disappeared as he finished casting.

"Thunder Blade!" He called out. Some zombies were fried by the electric attack, but were otherwise unharmed by the lightning magic.

Artemis sighed and stepped in front of him. "They're undead. Electricity isn't going to work on them much. Fire and Light magic would be better." She said, annoyed.

_'Man this girl is annoying. I don't need someone like her telling me what to do.'_ She heard Yuan say. Or rather, think. She tried to ignore it.

She felt her anxiety rising as the zombies shambled closer, but she had to do something. They weren't going to get anywhere by shooting lightning and slashing at the undead corpses. Suddenly she felt some kind of energy surge through her. It felt strange. _Is this... Mana?_ She wondered. The energy built inside of her and she focused on the path ahead, a smile curled her lips.

"She can use magic?" She heard Gabriel whisper in awe.

Artemis stepped forward and lifted her right arm until it was pointed straight away from her. Why was her body moving on it's own? Was it the energy? The crystal? What was it doing? Kratos jumped away from an enemy attack and looked back at her as a white glow emanated from her palm. "Let the light shine and destroy these unholy creatures." She heard herself say. Where did the words come from? She realized it had to be the incantation for a spell, but not one she'd encountered before. The energy seared through her, burning it's way into her palm. "HOLY!" She cried out as the light burst forth from her.

With the magic released, she fell back onto her butt, exhausted. The spell had taken a lot of energy from her. The light shot down the hallway, destroying all the zombies in it's path. The end of the hall was lit for a moment before the magic dispersed. Artemis stared blankly ahead of her, still trying to catch her breath.

"You're... a half-elf." Gabriel said, walking over to her.

She turned to look at him, ready to deny the accusation, but she paused instead and lifted a hand to her ear. After feeling the pointed tips she screamed. Artemis was one hundred percent positive they hadn't been that way before. She definitely had round ears before she put her wig on for the cosplay. It explained the odd feeling in the air, and how she'd just used magic, but not how it had happened. Did it have something to do with the way she was dressed like Martel? Or was it another thing to attribute to the crystal?

Tentatively, she reached up and touched the crystal with her fingertips. There was a faint thrum of energy pulsing through it into her fingers. It had to be the reason, but why? She'd gotten it from that weird glitch in the game. Did the crystal bring her to this world as well? And if so, why? For what reason? There were definitely too many questions and not enough answers. For now, she would have to go with the flow.

It was then that she noticed they were all staring at her. Did she say something aloud without knowing it? No, it was because she had screamed. Artemis lowered her eyes to the ground, ashamed of her response.

"S-sorry. I'm used to a different reaction from other people." She said, slowly getting to her feet.

Gabriel shook his head. "You don't need to apologize." He said. "My little brother is a half-elf, so we can't let him go to the school. The one time we sent him, he came home with a gash on his forehead. Mom has home schooled him since."

Artemis looked over at him. She didn't recall ever giving Gabriel a brother. "Oh. I didn't know." She said.

Gabriel smiled. "It's alright. I understand. Most people react violently when they meet half-elves. But Yuan here is also a half-elf, so you don't have to be afraid." He said.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Thank you. So umm, shouldn't we keep moving?" She asked, looking at all of them. She really wished they would all stop looking at her like she was weird. She'd dealt with enough of that from school.

"Oh, right." Gabriel said, blushing. Kratos looked at her and then at Gabriel before continuing to lead the way into the temple.

* * *

If things weren't bad enough before, they had grown much more complicated. The mysterious girl, Artemis, turned out to be a half-elf. Though, the spell she'd used wasn't one he was familiar with. Either way it made things complicated. Kratos wasn't ready to put any trust in her, even if she had used a spell to defeat all the zombies. She didn't seem to know where the spell had come from, and it seemed like being a half-elf was a shock to her. If she had been born a half-elf, she shouldn't have reacted that way to finding out, right?

He frowned, deep in thought, as he led the way down the hall. There were two paths at the end, and when he reached it he turned right. The left path led to the basement archive, and they needed to go to the Oracle altar upstairs. He glanced back to see Artemis and the Chosen walking side by side again. He narrowed his eyes and looked ahead again.

"So, why exactly are you running from the Desians?" He heard the Chosen ask.

The girl sighed. "It's a long story." She said. "They've wanted to recruit me for a long time. I keep moving around and changing my appearance so they won't recognize me."

"But... why are you running?" Gabriel asked.

"I... don't agree with... what they do to people." She said softly. Her voice was still loud enough for him to hear her.

Kratos looked back for a moment to see the sad look on her face. Whether she was a half-elf or not, she didn't agree with the Desians' work. Still, of all places to end up, why here? Did she want to help the Chosen fight the Desians? He hoped not. Mithos always got mad when he ended up fighting the Desians in order to keep the Chosen safe.

"Oh. That's good though." Gabriel answered. Kratos imagined the blond was smiling, but he didn't look back again.

"Yes. I know. I want to help people, not just half-elves... everyone." Artemis said. "That's why I asked to join you. You're going to save the world by sealing the Desians away, and I want to help."

"Thanks." Gabriel said softly. "To be honest, I'm nervous about going on this journey." He sounded nervous.

"What for?" She sounded surprised. "It won't be too hard, and you're doing it to save the world, right?"

"I... I've never been away from home. I'm worried that... I might never see my mother and brother again." He said.

"You can't let that stop you. Even if you never see them again, if you save the world, they'll live on and be happy. That's what's important, isn't it?" She asked.

Gabriel sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For cheering me up, of course." Gabriel said, laughing a little.

"Oh, well... you're welcome."

Kratos headed up the stairs and came out in the temple antechamber. The altar stood in the middle of the room ahead of him. Technically it was a warp pad so the angels could come down to the altar. Of course, that was something only the angels of Welgaia knew about. He turned and waited for the others to walk into the room.

Gabriel and Artemis walked into the room together. The blond looked around in awed silence, taking in the appearance of the room. The girl didn't look as impressed, but she moved around the room, smiling. Kratos narrowed his eyes and watched her, she didn't seem to be planning anything, but it was hard to tell what was going on in her head. She didn't act like anyone should normally act in a situation like this, and because she was so different, it made him worry.

Yuan was the last to walk into the room, and he simply stood by the doorway to watch for monsters. Kratos walked over to Gabriel. "Chosen, if you will approach the altar, please."

Gabriel looked at him and nodded. "Okay." He said and walked forward until he was standing in front of the altar.

A bright light fell from the ceiling and a figure appeared. Kratos knew this was one of the angels from Welgaia to begin the Chosen ritual. The light died down so everyone could see the angel better. Solid, white feathered wings sprouted from the angels' back. He was wearing long, light colored robes, but his expression was blank. Void of emotion, like all the others.

The angel looked at Gabriel. "I am an angel of Cruxis, sent here from the heavens to guide the Chosen, Gabriel Valentine, on his journey to regenerate the world." The angel said. "Do you accept this task?"

Gabriel looked extremely nervous, but he nodded. "Y-yes." He managed to say softly.

"Then take this Cruxis Crystal to mark you as the Chosen of Mana." In a soft flash of light, a red crystal appeared, floating in mid-air. Kratos noticed that Artemis was staring at the crystal oddly as it floated towards Gabriel. Another soft flash of light and Kratos knew the crystal had fused to the boy's skin. "We of Cruxis bless this event and bestow the Tower of Salvation upon this world." The angel said and pointed toward the window.

Artemis walked over and looked outside. "Woah, that thing is HUGE!" She exclaimed.

Kratos felt his eye starting to twitch and shook his head. Now wasn't the time to get annoyed with her odd behavior. "Chosen, unlock the four seals and make your way to the Tower. There, you will become an angel and the world shall be saved." The angel flapped his wings and floated up until the light came again and engulfed him. With a flash he was gone.

"Become an angel..." Gabriel whispered.

"Is something wrong, Chosen?" Kratos asked, having heard the boy whisper.

"Huh?" Gabriel looked at him, surprised. "Oh, no. There's nothing wrong at all." He said with a small smile.

Artemis turned away from the window, an odd look on her face. Once again Kratos found himself wondering what was going through her head. "We should get moving." He said and nodded to Yuan, who took the lead on the way out this time. He looked over and noticed she wasn't moving.

"Artemis?" Gabriel asked, walking over to her. Kratos caught a glimpse of the star-shaped crest surrounding the red crystal on his chest.

"Huh?" Artemis blinked rapidly and looked around as if suddenly remembering where she was. "Oh, are we leaving?" She asked.

"Yeah. Come on." Gabriel smiled and the two of them began to leave the room.

Kratos waited until they were out of earshot and let out a sigh. This was going to be far more difficult and unusual than expected. He could only hope this journey would be easy.

* * *

**Okay, that took a heck of a lot longer to get on paper than I thought it would. The ending for this chapter eluded me... a lot. Sorry for the wait.**


	3. Haunted Forest

**Here is chapter three. I had a ridiculous time trying to write this out on paper and ended up writing it mostly on the computer. Only the first five chapters were written on paper and the rest written purely online. o3o Enjoy though.**

**I do not own anything but my OC's.**

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**Chapter 3 - Haunted Forest**

"So... where do we go to next?" Gabriel asked as they stepped out into the fresh air. The sun was still out, though it was lower in the sky, finally beginning to set for the day. "That angel mentioned four seals I need to unlock. Where would those be?" He asked.

Yuan wasn't sure exactly how to explain that or where to begin talking about the subject. The four seals were the elemental sites but that information was not supposed to be common knowledge. Mithos had decided to have a set of books made giving clues to hint at the seal's locations. He looked over and noticed that Kratos too was struggling to come up with a decent response. Okay, so at least he wasn't alone in his confusion.

"The four elemental sites." Artemis' voice broke through the silence.

He looked at her, surprised that she even knew anything about the elemental sites. Sure she was odd, and that was putting it lightly, but even she shouldn't know about them. Her eyes were cast on the ground as she thought about what to say next. He frowned and wondered if she was going to continue talking.

"Tethe'alla has four elemental sites. There is the Temple of Ice which is located to the south of Flanoir, but that's on an entirely different continent. We'd need a boat to get there." She said, frowning. "Then there is the Temple of Lightning, which is on an island off the coast, north of the forest. And then the Temple of Earth is north of Meltokio while the Temple of Shadow lies to the south." She finished, looking up at all of them.

"Where did you learn that?" Kratos was the first to ask. Yuan noted that the Chosen looked confused, but impressed by her knowledge.

Artemis shrugged. "I get around." Was her only response.

"So, the Temple of Lightning would be closest then?" Gabriel asked.

Yuan took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. We have to travel through the Gaoracchia Forest, and from there travel north to the coast. At low tide there is a strip of land that leads out to the island." He said.

Gabriel looked towards the edge of the forest. "We... we have to go through there?" He asked nervously. "But... that forest is haunted." He said.

"Ooh, a haunted forest?" Artemis said, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "Sounds like fun." She smiled.

Kratos sighed. "Let's get moving. We'll need to set up camp before we go into the Forest anyway."

Gabriel nodded absently while Artemis started... skipping. She was clearly very excited by the idea of a haunted forest. Yuan couldn't even begin to fathom the reason for it.

* * *

They set up camp for the night not too far from the village, though they were still about a couple hours journey away from the forest. Artemis had made note of the fact that there was a way to walk around Ozette and enter the forest without having to go through the village. A fact that clearly was not available from playing the game. Then again, this path was probably overgrown with trees and stuff by the time Lloyd and his friends would traverse this way. Still, it was nice to know things were a bit easier.

Gabriel had fallen asleep almost half an hour ago after they'd eaten supper and Artemis was too excited to think about sleeping now. Yuan had judged that Kratos would take the first watch for half the night and he would take the second. Apparently neither of them trusted her enough to keep watch. It was a little disappointing, but she wasn't going to complain, at least she would be able to sleep if she wanted.

Kratos was trying not to pay her any mind as he kept an eye out for monsters. Artemis bit her lip and sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "It's been a long time since I've traveled with people." She said.

He didn't look at her, or even say anything. She frowned. "You know... you can say something." She said after an awkward silence.

"There is nothing to say." Kratos stated simply without turning to look at her.

Artemis frowned, pouting. She was actually pouting. "Don't be such a sour puss. I'm too awake to fall asleep and I'd rather not spend my time sitting in complete silence." She said.

He didn't respond and she let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you don't have to say anything. I'll just talk myself to sleep if I have to." She said angrily.

Though, after she had said that she found herself lacking something to talk about. She couldn't very well talk about Lloyd and his friends, or could she? They didn't exist yet so Kratos wouldn't know what she was talking about until that time approached. And by that time she would hopefully be either dead or back home in her own world. She could probably tell it like a story, though she knew Gabriel would probably like to hear it, too. And she didn't want to blow her own cover about running from the Desians, either. And further still, she couldn't let it slip that she knew Kratos and Yuan were both angels.

What was something safe to talk about? It had to be something related to this world, but there wasn't too much she could talk about. She had no idea how far along the technology was for the Desians. Dammit! What was she going to say?

'_Wasn't she going to talk to herself? Oh well, at least she's quiet right now._' She heard Kratos think to himself. Wait, so she was hearing Kratos' thoughts now too?_  
_

"Who's quiet?" She asked, deciding that it would be fun to mess with her new-found ability.

Kratos turned and stared at her, though his expression seemed calm, she could see the shock hidden behind his eyes. "How did-?"

Artemis shrugged. "I don't know exactly how it works, but... I think I can read minds." She said. "Though it seems I can only pick up on loud surface thoughts." She answered.

Kratos frowned slightly at that and turned his head away, but he seemed to be thinking about that. "How long have you had this ability?" He asked finally.

"I only started hearing thoughts recently." She admitted. She could have tried lying and saying she'd always had the ability but then that would imply she should have more skill with it. As it was, she figured it was better to be honest about it. "I don't think I can control it. At least, I'm not sure how to just yet."

"You will probably learn how to control it with time." He said.

"Yeah, and lots of practice too, I'm sure." Artemis answered with a smile, leaning back a bit.

There was a long silence and then... "Why do you want to help the Chosen?" Kratos asked her.

"Huh?" Artemis sat up straighter and looked at him. He wasn't looking at her, but she knew he was waiting for an answer. "I just... I really don't like what the Desians do. And I was hoping that by helping the Chosen, I would be able to make the world a better place." She answered. It was an honest enough answer. There was also the chance that if they made it to the tower, she could go with them to Welgaia and ask Mithos to send her home with the Eternal Sword. Either way it served a purpose.

Kratos looked at her. "That's really all you want?" He asked her.

Artemis looked up at the sky. "Yeah. I want to help people. Not just half-elves, and not just humans. I want to help... _everyone_. Discrimination is awful, no one should have to go through that. But I know it won't simply end just because the world is saved and the Desians are gone. It's something people need to work towards."

"Hm." Kratos said nothing other than that for a while. "I knew someone who had that same ideal." He said after a silence had passed.

Artemis smiled slightly and nodded. "Knew?" She asked, though she knew who he was talking about.

"She passed away a long time ago." He said. "But she believed in a world without discrimination."

"She sounds like an amazing person." Artemis replied, staring up at the sky. Kratos made a noise that sounded like indifference, but said nothing else.

"Well, I'm gonna try and get some sleep." Artemis said. "See you in the morning, Kratos." She turned away and lay down on the ground, closing her eyes. She knew she was wearing contacts, but she didn't want to take them out and confuse the group even more. It was risky sleeping with her contacts in, but right now she really didn't have too much choice. Kratos didn't say anything to her in the way of 'good night' or anything, but she knew she'd left him with something to think about until his shift was over.

* * *

She certainly had given him something to think about. Kratos glanced at the sleeping girl and wondered about her even more than usual. So she was being honest about quite a few things, even if her story about running from the Desians was bogus. She was a half-elf, though her reaction to that news clearly showed she hadn't been before. But if she wasn't a half-elf, then what. Was she originally a human? And she had a crystal, though whether it was a Cruxis crystal or not, that still needed to be determined. And though she was dressed in a similar manner to Martel, she was in no way the same as the half-elf woman, even if she did share the same ideal about a world without discrimination.

Judging from her views and personality though, he had come to the conclusion that she would NOT be a danger to this journey. So far she had already helped to encourage the Chosen to get his Cruxis crystal by helping him enter the temple. And she knew about the elemental sites. There was still something very strange and different about her that he couldn't quite place, but it didn't seem to be a bad thing at this point. Her breathing had slowed and she appeared to be asleep, though he wasn't going to say anything in case she was a light sleeper.

The night was quiet for a long time, and though he didn't like to keep track of time, he knew that hours were passing him by. Everything was eerily quiet, and he could sense the monsters, but they were hovering at the edge of the forest. Those monsters couldn't leave the forest, but they were watching. He glanced over in that direction and frowned, knowing that in so many hours they would be heading in that direction. Hopefully by that time, the monsters will have dispersed, but he somehow doubted that.

Finally he shook Yuan awake, though it took him several minutes to wake the blue-haired seraph. He was such a stubborn sleeper, that is... when he fell asleep to begin with. Unless Yuan himself set an alarm or judged that he needed to be up at a certain time, he usually always overslept. When he was finally awake, Kratos told him about the monsters at the edge of the forest watching them. The other seraph glanced in the direction before telling him to get some sleep. Kratos nodded and let himself relax a bit, there were still a few hours to morning.

He never really slept all that much and on those rare occasions that he did sleep, he had nightmares, usually about the Kharlan War. About everything that had happened and gone wrong back then. So he usually only ever let himself drift off a little while keeping a sense of what was going on around him. As a result, Kratos was a very light sleeper and usually woke up at the slightest touch or sound, especially if said sound was highly suspicious.

So, naturally, when he heard Yuan telling Artemis to get up several hours later, he woke up as well without needing to be prodded. The girl woke up fairly fast as well, yawning and stretching her limbs as she looked around. Gabriel was the last to wake, though he was up quick enough when Yuan shook his shoulder. When they were all awake, they set about gathering their things, though for Artemis there was little for her to get, she only had what she was wearing and that green 'wig' is what she called it. Though after a few minutes she put it back on her head and secured it in place. He realized of course that the only reason for her to wear it on her head was to avoid having to carry it everywhere in her hands. They had Yuan's wing pack, but he doubted she would want to leave it in there.

"Is everyone all set?" He asked.

Gabriel and Artemis both nodded and Yuan finished packing the last few items in the wing pack. Kratos surveyed the area and looked towards the forest. The sun was only just beginning to rise over the horizon, so it was still very early, but it was morning and they needed to get moving. "Alright, let's get moving." He said and looked toward the forest.

The eerie feeling from earlier in the night was gone and he couldn't sense the monsters at the edge of the forest. So they had moved on for now, that was a good sign at least. They wouldn't have to worry about the monsters immediately, though they were probably lurking in the forest anyway. Either way they would end up having to fight the monsters of the forest, but hopefully they wouldn't have too much trouble.

* * *

It was still really early in the day, probably around seven in the morning or so. The sun was still rising, but at least she wasn't too tired. It had been a bit uncomfortable sleeping on the ground when she'd only ever slept on a bed or couch before, but it was something she might as well get used to. There was no telling exactly how long they would be on this journey with Gabriel.

As they neared the forest she noticed he looked more and more worried. Artemis smiled slightly and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay." She said.

Gabriel nodded, but he still looked incredibly pale with worry. Yuan was nearby watching her while Kratos led the way into the forest. At least there was a path to follow and it was fairly easy to keep track of where you were going here. Nothing like the game, where all the paths looked the same and were overgrown with plants. The forest clearly hadn't had enough time to get to that point, much like a lot of things in this world, she was sure.

The trees were very tall and close together, blocking the light from the sun. Only a few rays filtered through the leaves, and even those didn't shed much light. She looked ahead and noticed it got darker further in and she frowned. "It's a lot darker than I would have expected. But the trees are really close together so I guess that makes sense." She thought aloud.

"What are you muttering?" Yuan asked, walking over to her.

Artemis looked up at him and frowned. "Huh? Oh, I was just noticing how dark it is in here." She said. "Not that it bothers me any. I actually really like the dark, but still, I wasn't expecting it to be _this_ dark in here."

Yuan stared at her like she was crazy and she sighed. "I was only observing. No need to be so suspicious." She said to him and walked ahead.

Kratos had already taken the lead position and she walked ahead a bit to follow him. She actually really liked Yuan but the way he was watching her made her feel weird. It probably had something to do with her so-called 'disguise' but she couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't trust her. Well, Kratos probably didn't trust her much either, but at least he was more capable of hiding his feelings. Yuan... not so much. She could practically feel the suspicion radiating from him.

"How long will it take to get to the northern part of the forest?" Artemis asked as she got closer to Kratos.

"Most of the day. We have to travel almost into the center of the forest and turn back to the north to reach that side." He answered.

"Why is that?" Gabriel asked from somewhere behind her.

"It's because of the mountain nearby. A part of it juts out into the forest and so we have to go around. There's no tunnel under to get through." Kratos answered again.

Artemis nodded, remembering that there was a mountain near Ozette. After all, Altessa lived in the cave at the bottom of the cliff bordering the mountain not far from the village. Although she doubted the dwarf lived there now. If anything, it might just be an ordinary cave at the moment. Or perhaps even monsters lived there now. Either way, it wasn't worth looking into if they were too early in time to really check it out.

As they walked in silence for a few more minutes she heard Gabriel gasp and she turned to look at him. "Wait a minute!" Gabriel called out. Kratos slowed to a stop ahead and turned to look at the Chosen as well. "The northern forest. That's where the Desian ranch is. If we go that way we'll have to pass right by it." He said, alarmed.

Artemis noticed Gabriel's eyes were looking at her with concern and she realized he wasn't just worried about himself. She pursed her lips into a thin line as she nodded solemnly, letting him know that she realized the same thing. "It's a risk we have to take." She said. "The Desians might find out that I'm traveling with you, but we can't let that stop us from reaching the seal."

Gabriel frowned. "But Artemis... what if they capture you?"

She looked at the ground. "I doubt they would kill me. If they find me and I get captured, you have to keep moving. I'll find a way out on my own." She answered, though she was unsure exactly how she was going to manage that. For one thing she had no weapon apart from the magic at her disposal.

"But...!" Gabriel began to argue.

"Look! This isn't up for discussion!" Artemis forced the words, her hands clenching into fists. "Let's just get moving. Hopefully we'll get lucky and the Desians won't even notice. They can hardly be bothered to mess with people just walking by their ranch, now can they?" She asked, hoping the issue could be dropped.

Gabriel opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. "Artemis is right, Chosen. We need to at least keep moving. The monsters will eventually notice we're here and we don't want to stop moving in this forest." Kratos said.

Gabriel nodded absently. "Alright."

Artemis felt a little bad for yelling at him, but he needed the encouragement. She hadn't planned on his personality being so... subdued, but again she had never gotten to writing his story. Perhaps just thinking of his character brought him to life and he developed a character on his own? Or maybe her idea about a character named Gabriel Valentine was only coincidence and her own character couldn't ever match up to the real deal. Either way, though she felt bad, she didn't think she needed to apologize. Her story about the Desians was bogus. And even if the Desians did notice and stop them they would probably let them through. Two members of their group were half-elves and Gabriel was the Chosen. Kratos, well... he was Kratos. Who in their right mind would _ever_ mess with Kratos? She glanced over at Yuan and realized that he would, but judging from what she'd observed so far, he hadn't come to the realization that he needed to break Origin's pact by killing Kratos. That was good, she didn't want to have to worry about that kind of tension right now.

It was bad enough she'd been pulled into this world, how on earth was she going to deal with that tension if it came up? She guessed Yuan was trying to start organizing his renegade group, but it was hard to tell. He at least seemed to greatly dislike having to force a Chosen through the journey. That much was obvious from his snide, sarcastic and cynical thought back at the temple yesterday. It might be safe to say that he was trying to stop Mithos but probably wasn't entirely too sure how to go about doing that yet. As much as she wanted to help him, she knew that Mithos would be stopped by Lloyd, probably in about three thousand or so years from now. Knowing that, she had to play her cards right and help Gabriel more instead, to make sure the world reached that point. After all, what would the world be without people like Lloyd and Colette, Genis and Raine, and all the others?

"Argh! Shut up brain!" She cried out as her thoughts started scrambling. The others all looked at her oddly and she bit her lip, holding her breath to see if they were going to say anything about her random outburst. No one said anything, Gabriel looked confused though and Yuan glared at her suspiciously as he moved on.

"Are you alright, Artemis?" Gabriel asked her.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She smiled over at the young blond boy. "Just... thinking too much." She said a little too cheerfully. Dammit, what was WRONG with her?! She also really wanted to ditch the wig again as it was getting itchy. Man, life was so... not... FAIR. After a while she let Gabriel walk ahead where Kratos was leading and looked at Yuan. "You have a wing pack, right?" She asked.

Yuan looked at her for a moment, seeming to consider whether he should answer honestly or not. "Yes, what about it?" He finally responded.

"I was wondering if it was possible to get another one?" She told him. As much as she didn't mind letting Yuan hold onto the wing pack with all the supplies in it, she kind of wanted to get her own. She could put her own supplies in it, store the wig, maybe even have a separate set of clothes to wear. Her cosplay wasn't exactly made of the highest quality material, and she was certain it would get cold when they started to head for Flanoir. Whenever that would be happening, anyway.

"It would be next to impossible to get one now. The price alone we wouldn't be able to afford." He said to her.

Artemis frowned at that and let out a sigh. "Is it possible to build one?" She asked.

"If I had the pieces necessary at hand, I could build one for you. But the parts alone would also be quite expensive." He told her.

Artemis smiled. "That's fine. What kind of parts would be needed anyway?" She had to admit she was really curious now. Yuan certainly seemed to know a LOT about the wing pack, and it probably made sense. He was a half-elf and controlled lightning, so magi-technology was probably a hobby of his anyway. Not that she liked to assume, but he had mentioned that given the parts he could build one.

Yuan stared down at her for a moment and she cursed herself for being so short. Also, she was inwardly cursing herself for being so crazy about him. Just being this close she was doing everything she could not to scream and jump on him. It was easier to try and pretend that he was a cosplayer, a very, VERY, convincing cosplayer. At least looking at him that way she could keep her thoughts straight for a few minutes. When she thought he wasn't going to give her an answer he listed a few items, that, given their nature, would be hard to find. She nodded absently and tried to absorb the information so she could try looking later. Heck, if she managed to take the wing pack back to Earth with her, that would solve a lot of things. Mostly things involving lifting and moving heavy loads. But still, it would be a big thing for people on Earth anyway.

"Alright, I'll keep those in mind. If I happen to find everything I need, I'll come to you." She said with a smile.

Yuan just sighed and said nothing, though she was fairly certain he was thinking she was weird. Well, so what if she was a little different? At least she wasn't like anyone else and therefore could be remembered by people. She hadn't always liked being different, but mean kids at school often helped to change your perspective of the world. Now she was proud to be herself, even if it meant other people thinking she was weird, or a freak or something. At least she left an impression with people.

* * *

Sure, he thought she was odd, but mostly he was wondering what she needed a wing pack for. Did she plan on separating from their group at some point in time? And even if that wasn't her plan, why would she need it? To keep gels in? To have extra clothes or weapons? They really only needed one wing pack. Still, if she managed to get the materials together, he wouldn't say no to building one for her. Magi-technology was the one thing he understood better than anything else. It would be nice to do something with his hobby while on this journey. Though he doubted she'd find all the materials needed anyway.

The forest was eerily quiet though, and that was starting to worry him. Even this forest usually had some harmless animals in it, so it shouldn't be this calm and quiet. The monsters hadn't shown up yet either, which was perhaps the worst part. If they'd run into any monsters before now he wouldn't have found this lull so creepy. But as it was, Yuan knew something was off. He couldn't figure out why that was though.

At least, no solution presented itself until there was a rustling in the leaves up ahead. The group stopped and Yuan summoned his weapon from the wing pack at his belt to be on the safe side. He could see a hulking figure up ahead in the trees but it was... it was HUGE. What the hell was that thing?!

After a moment, a large four-armed skeleton stepped out of the trees and slowly moved towards them. Yuan stepped forward and pulled Gabriel back to where Artemis was. She at least had the right idea about staying back. He hoped she knew how to use healing magic as well as that light spell she'd used yesterday. Otherwise this was probably going to be a very difficult fight. He still couldn't help but wonder what this thing was, and why it was here. Sure the forest was usually filled with un-dead monsters, but still, he'd never once seen this skeleton before. Apparently Artemis was wondering the same thing as she whispered to herself.

"What the hell is the Sword Dancer doing here?" She whispered, possibly unaware that he could hear her.

So it's called the Sword Dancer, is it? Yuan thought to himself as he swung the Swallow around in his hand a moment. "Chosen, stay back. You have no weapon, and no magic." He said and the blond nodded once. He didn't have much time to worry about the boy as Kratos chose to run forward. Yuan did the same, dodging out of the way just in time as the skeleton swung two swords at him.

"Holy!" He heard Artemis shout from behind him and watched as the orb of light shot at the skeleton. It let out a garbled cry that sounded like a demonic shriek. Yuan slashed with the Swallow twice and jumped back as another huge sword came flying down at him.

"Urgh!" He heard Kratos grunt from the other side and realized the thing had managed to hit the other seraph. Damn, if it could hurt Kratos then he really needed to be careful. Yuan jumped back farther and started casting, calling on the mana as fast as the spell would allow. "Thunder Blade!" He shouted and the purple blade slammed into the ground at the skeleton's feet. The lightning didn't do as much damage as Artemis's light spell, but it seemed to slow the creature down a little. At least, it missed hitting Kratos again as he cast First Aid on himself.

He glanced back to see Artemis was casting again, but he wasn't sure how long she'd been casting. Was she searching for a new spell? He hoped so, and that it would be powerful enough to take care of the demonic skeleton. He charged forward, summoning his mana as he did. He dodged an attack, feeling one of the swords graze his leg as he moved. There was no time to stop and he leaped into the air. "Thunder Explosion!" He called out as he came back to the ground. He slammed one end of the Swallow into the ground and an area appeared around him, shooting lightning out of it at the enemy. It screeched again and swung it's blades at him. There wasn't enough time to dodge the attack. He managed to move enough that his weapon would block the brunt of the attack, but it still sent him flying into a nearby tree.

His breath left him as his back slammed into the tree. He slumped to the ground trying to suck in enough air to gather his senses. Kratos was the only melee fighter left standing between Artemis and the chosen. If he fell, there was no chance they would win. Not that he cared too much if the chosen died, but still, he really disliked the idea of losing this way. This was only their second encounter on this journey. Argh, dammit! He tried to get up, but it hurt too much. Kratos dodged an attack and looked over at him, but Yuan knew from the look on his face there was no time for him to cast First Aid. Yuan reached for the wing pack and summoned an apple gel from it. He would have to do with these for now. He tossed the gel into his mouth and swallowed, feeling instant relief.

"I call upon the sacred powers of the gods above. Lend me your aid and smite the evil that stands before me!" As he ran back towards the fight, the circle of light died beneath Artemis' feet. "Chariot of Light!" She shouted. The area was suddenly lit up by a strange, mystic light. It twisted and formed what looked like a chariot being driven by a being of pure light. The chariot raced forward and drove through the skeleton, weaving in and out through it's entire body structure until at the head, the creature gave out one last screech and it fell apart. "Well, that ends that." Artemis said when it was done.

"_Well... done..._" A deep voice whispered through the forest as the evil aura surrounding the skeleton faded._  
_

Yuan sighed and walked over, looking at the remains and then looking at Artemis, wondering just what that spell was. It wasn't something he'd ever seen before, but it had clearly been powerful enough to defeat the skeleton. She looked a little confused herself, though, so he guessed she wasn't sure where the spell had come from.

Gabriel looked... freaked out. "I _told _you this forest is haunted." He said, his voice just over a whisper.

Artemis glanced at the blond and frowned. "Are you afraid of ghosts, Gabriel?" She asked.

"I, um... no... I-I'm not... Argh!" He screamed as a ghost passed by him out of the nearby trees. It didn't seem intent on attacking them though and simply moved on. Gabriel blushed in his embarrassment and looked at the ground. "Okay, fine. Yes... I'm afraid of ghosts." He said.

Artemis just smiled and pat him on the back. "It's okay. Everyone is afraid of something, so it's not a big deal. At least you're afraid of something that a lot of other people could be scared of too." She said to him. "It's a rational fear instead of an irrational one, so don't worry about it. If we run into more ghosts, we'll take care of them." She told the boy.

Gabriel nodded absently, though he looked a little less pale now. As much as Yuan hated to admit it, the girl was good for the Chosen's self-esteem. If it weren't for the fact that he was trying to stop Mithos, he'd be happy to have her encouraging the chosen. As it stood, it was not best for his current plans. This was... not going to be good.

* * *

**And that will be the end of this chapter. Hurray. I know it's a bit short, especially compared to some other chapters I write for other stories, but hey. I got 5700 words in here before I added any disclaimers. ^ ^**


	4. Desians

**Well, things have been crazy busy lately... which is a good thing for my social life, but not such a great thing for writing stories. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**I do not own anything except for my OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Desians**

A couple days later... Artemis was growing sick of the forest. She normally didn't get out all that much, and she loved nature, but she was totally sick of this forest. It was incredibly dark, and although her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, she could still hardly see anything at all. If it weren't for Kratos and Yuan's angel senses, their group would have been ambushed several times in the past couple days. She hated it... the darkness... the monsters... and the endless walking. God, she hated the endless hours of walking! Of course, she'd never complain about it to anyone, but she was exhausted.

"Lightning Thrust!" Yuan called out, killing the last monster from the latest group of enemies.

Artemis huffed out a sigh of relief as it faded into mana. Kratos looked a bit weary from all the fighting as well, and Gabriel... he looked fine. He had no weapons, so they were all trying to keep the Chosen safe.

"Damned stupid monsters!" Yuan grumbled, though she could tell he was mostly talking to himself at the moment. Of course, Artemis also noticed the gash on his arm.

"Yuan, hold still." She said as she walked over. She hadn't experimented too much with her magic, but if she could utilize light-based attack spells, she probably had the ability to use healing magic. Probably.

"And why should I do that?" He asked, giving her a skeptical look.

Artemis sighed as she grabbed his arm and saw him wince. "You're wounded, that's why." She answered simply. She took a deep breath and focused on the mana she could feel within her. She was still really confused about how she had come to this world, and why she was a half-elf here, but she wasn't complaining at this point. "First Aid." She said. She opened her eyes in time to see a faint green glow emanate from her hand, and a few seconds later his wound had closed. "There we go." She smiled and let go of his arm. "Good as new, right?" She asked.

Yuan frowned and examined his arm as if doubting her ability. Finally, when he obviously found nothing wrong, he scoffed and turned away from her. Artemis guessed it was his way of saying 'thanks'. She just shook her head and kept moving. They still had so much more walking to do.

Somewhere around midday, though it was hard to tell given the darkness of the forest, Kratos stopped up ahead and immediately crouched down behind a bush. Gabriel had paused and was looking around in fear, while Yuan stood at the back looking a bit bored. Artemis had a feeling she knew what this meant... Desians.

She went into a crouch as well and silently moved over to where Kratos was. She saw him tense when she got close behind him and she stopped. Okay, so apparently he was very paranoid about people approaching him from behind. Probably something he adapted as a habit during the Kharlan War... not that she was supposed to know about any of that. Artemis swallowed the lump in her throat and moved around to his side and got closer to the brush.

"How does it look?" She asked in a whisper.

Kratos wasn't looking at her, and even when he answered her, he didn't bother to look her way. "Not good. They have patrols along the wall, and they cleared out the trees immediately surrounding the base. Plus, they appear to have a road block up ahead." He told her, all in hushed tones.

Artemis frowned and peeked out through the brush. Sure enough, she saw all of the things Kratos just mentioned. The worst part? There didn't appear to be a way around the blockade or the base, not without getting discovered. "What do we do?" She asked.

"We'll have to hope they don't bother us much." Yuan said quietly from further back.

Gabriel looked horrified. "But... but Artemis!" The blond turned to look at her and she shook her head.

"I'll be fine Gabriel. As I said, even if they realize who I am, it's not like they're going to kill me or throw me into a jail cell. Keep a close eye on me, maybe... but they won't hurt me." Artemis answered. "Yuan is right." She said as she moved away from the brush and straightened herself. "There's no way we can sneak around without being caught, and that'll only make us look suspicious anyway."

"The Desians most likely won't bother us as long as we don't cause trouble." Kratos added.

Artemis blinked at him, only seconds ago he had been crouching near the bush and now he was standing casually, his left arm resting on the hilt of his sword, sheathed on his left side. Slowly, she nodded at his statement. "Exactly. With any luck, we'll be able to pass by without a problem." Artemis said.

Gabriel frowned and sighed. "I... I guess... I just..." He wasn't able to finish whatever he was going to say because they were all knocked to the ground after a loud '_THOOM!_' echoed through the forest.

Artemis groaned as she tried to get to her feet. After a moment, she realized she was having a hard time hearing anything, and she wondered if Kratos and Yuan were having the same difficulty. Judging from the blood that seemed to be running from their ears, she guessed it was a yes. Gabriel looked confused, but she ignored him as she called on her mana. She wasn't sure if she could use the spell right now at her level, but she had to try, cause all of them needed the healing. "Fairy Circle!" She spoke the words, and she could feel the vibration from her throat, but she couldn't hear the words. Although, as the healing glyph appeared on the ground beneath all of them, she realized she could cast the spell.

There was blissful relief throughout her body as the spell worked it's magic. After that she heard, and felt, a '_POP!_' and suddenly she could hear the screaming. Everyone else could hear it too. Gabriel looked alarmed, Yuan looked annoyed and Kratos... looked as impassive as always, but his eyes were narrowed. This was going to be more difficult than they had hoped for.

* * *

_Dammit, what the hell is going on now?!_ Yuan thought to himself angrily. It wasn't every day that a Desian base went up in flames, or exploded. It was rarer still that the prisoners inside escaped. Artemis didn't show any signs of having heard his thought, but he had little doubt she had. She was an odd one.

As a group, they approached the edge of the trees and saw the Desians running around frantically. The base was in flames, prisoners running around, trying to escape. The walls were blasted apart, which was a feat in and of itself since they were made of a very strong and durable metal. One of the Desians in charge noticed them and walked over.

Yuan narrowed his eyes a little, but kept his comments to himself. The man had short pale green hair and brown eyes, and possessed a particularly sour expression. Then again, that could be due to the fact this his ranch had just blown up on him.

"Hold it right there!" The man said, he had a very nasally voice with a very arrogant and disdainful tone laced in. "Who are you people and what is your business here?" He asked them.

Yuan watched as Kratos crossed his arms over his chest and looked the man over. He wasn't very curious about the Desian leader himself right now, but he remembered seeing the man before. This was Olkas, one of the Grand Cardinals. Yuan had never payed them much mind, but if he was a Cardinal, he was likely far stronger than he looked.

"We are escorts of the Chosen." Kratos answered finally. "We were heading this way to reach the Temple of Lightning."

The half-elf frowned at him and looked over their group. His brown eyes settled on Gabriel and the red crystal embedded in the star crest on his chest. "Ah... I see. I'm afraid you've caught us at a bad time. Someone infiltrated our ranch and set off a bomb. We're still looking for the intruder." Olkas replied. "I can't allow you to pass until we catch them. Perhaps you would like to be of assistance?" He suggested, raising a pale green brow.

"We don't really have time for that, but if you aren't going to let us pass until then, there seems to be little harm in helping." Kratos replied in a neutral tone.

Gabriel still looked rather nervous, and his face was very pale, but Artemis was staying close to him, so he'd probably be fine. Yuan couldn't really be bothered to care, he was still annoyed with the situation.

"Excellent." Olkas said with a smirk. "We've set up a perimeter to prevent the intruder from getting away, she should still be around here." His eyes settled on Artemis, who was currently wearing the green wig.

"Artemis has been travelling with us for the past several days." Kratos said when he noticed the look.

Olkas nodded. "Yes... the woman I speak of is a half-elf, tall, with blue hair and green eyes. She should be pretty easy to spot. She's the only one who stands out." He said as he turned away from them.

Yuan frowned a little, this was going to be ridiculous. "Chosen, stay close." Kratos said. The blond nodded, but stayed near Artemis as they walked forward to look around.

After what felt like hours, Yuan was ready to give up on this useless search. There was so sign of this female intruder, and they were wasting enough time as it was. The four of them were in an area alone searching for her, Gabriel seemed a little more comfortable now.

"This is pointless." Yuan finally said aloud. "Why don't we just go tell him we couldn't find her and get a move on!" He suggested.

"Couldn't find who?" A soft female voice asked.

Yuan spun around on the spot, summoning his Swallow from the wing pack as he did. '_CLANG!_' He locked blades with the blue-haired girl. She was only a few inches shorter than himself, her baby blue hair was tied up into a bun, with strands hanging down either side of her face. She had a determined look on her face, smirking at him, her green eyes full of determination.

Yuan pushed harder, but she didn't back down. He summoned some of his mana for an attack and her eyes widened before she jumped away from him, doing a flip in the air. She landed on her feet and held her sword at her side. It was then he noticed they were two swords, linked together by the pommel to form a single dual-blade.

She was wearing a black tube top with gold trim, a short red jacket, also with gold trim, long black gloves that laced up on the side, blue trim there. The gloves were finger-less, and she was wearing gold bracers. A single strip of blue showed, draped over her abdomen, coming out from under the tube top down to her black shorts. A gold garter belt covered that and connected to the red fishnet stockings on her legs. She had blue knee-high boots and wore black and red shin guards over them. All in all, even her color scheme matched his own in a way.

Yuan frowned at her and shot a blast of lightning mana at her. She deflected the blast rather easily and smiled a bit. "You're fun." She said.

"Who are you?" Kratos asked.

The girl paused and looked at him for a moment and then looked back at Yuan before she grabbed the hilts of her swords and... twisted. She twisted and pulled them apart at the pommel before she sheathed them. "Name's Yana." She answered. "Yana Ka-Fai."

Yuan stared, and for a moment he worried that his mouth had dropped open. No one seemed to notice his stare though, so maybe he didn't. Still, had he heard her correctly? She wasn't really... she couldn't be... There was no way, he had no family left. They had all died during the Kharlan War. But, she did have the blue hair and green eyes that were traits of his family.

"I'm Artemis." Of course, the odd girl had to be friendly with her. The girl held out a hand and Yana paused before she shook her hand with a smile.

"You destroyed the ranch." Kratos said simply.

Yana nodded. "Yep, that was me. I wasn't really trying to destroy the base, I was trying to rescue a friend of mine... that sort of backfired on me though." She laughed nervously.

"Rescue? You were trying to save someone?" Gabriel asked. Yuan was surprised the boy wasn't hiding behind Artemis.

Yana smiled. "Yeah, he's human, I wanted to save him from the Desians. He doesn't deserve the fate they have in mind for him." She answered. "But as I said, that plan sort of backfired. I don't know if he escaped or died in the explosion." She sighed in frustration.

"Let me guess, you want us to help you look?" Yuan asked, annoyance entering his voice again. He refused to believe this girl was family, and even if she was, he'd never been overly fond of his family. It had been one thing when Martel was alive and he'd planned on marrying her and starting a family of his own. Raising his own children with her hadn't seemed like such a bad idea then. But siblings and parents were another story.

"I never said that." Yana smirked. "Help would be nice, yes... but I wasn't going to suggest that. Besides, you came here looking for me, so... you're working with the Desians." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Actually, we were passing through." Artemis answered.

"Passing through? Why would you be passing through this area? There isn't much to the north save for a small coastal village." Yana said, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"We were escorting Gabriel to that village. He had to deliver medicine there, and was afraid to pass by the ranch without protection." Artemis explained.

Yuan blinked a couple of times and looked at the girl. She was a lot smarter than she looked. This Yana character was both familiar and strange to them. There was no knowing if she would be friendly or hostile after learning that Gabriel was the Chosen. She was playing it safe by lying for right now.

Yana tapped her right foot as she thought. "I see. Well, I'm pretty sure I can manage to sneak past the Desian guards on my own. However, I'll have a hard time looking for my friend on my own without getting caught. If you help me, I'd be happy to escort you the rest of the way through the forest to the village." She said after a while. "I know all the safe places in the forest since I pass through here all the time."

"And why should we trust your word?" Yuan asked before Artemis or Gabriel could agree. No doubt one of them would be naive enough to trust her outright. Kratos wasn't the type but he was watching the exchange silently.

Yana shrugged. "I'm not asking you to trust me, nor am I saying you should trust me. I'm just offering my help... that is, if you also help me." She replied.

"I think we should help her." Gabriel suggested and Yuan sighed. Yep, he knew it.

_There goes the Chosen, openly believing in the goodness of people he hardly knows._ Yuan thought to himself with exasperation. Artemis was looking at him, no doubt she heard his thought and was silently telling him to keep it to himself. Well, he was, dammit. He didn't need her giving him those looks. Not while she was dressed like that and wearing that stupid fake hair. She looked like Martel that way, and it bothered him to no end, not that he'd admit it.

"Well, thanks. I'm gonna keep looking on my own. You might be able to ask some of the guards about my friend. He has dark hair and grey eyes, kinda pale too. His name is Damien." Yana told them with a smile before she jumped up, did a flip, and landed in the nearest alcove of the still smoking building. She turned and disappeared inside the smoky remains.

"Well, let's start looking." Artemis said. Gabriel nodded his agreement.

* * *

It had made him really nervous when they had wandered near the destroyed base. It was bad enough that he was nervous about the Desians running around, and he was worried about Artemis too. What if the Desians realized who she was? Would they take her away? He shuddered to think of it. She was really nice and unlike Kratos, she talked to him like he was a normal person.

Meeting the blue-haired woman had been a bit odd, and she looked so much like Yuan, it was really strange. Were the two of them related? He couldn't really say, Yuan hadn't treated her like she was a relative, so maybe not? Gabriel wasn't really sure anymore.

Still, the blue-haired woman seemed honest enough, and she was trying to save someone. He should help her with that, he was the Chosen after all. It was his duty to save the world, so why not save someone now? Maybe it would help him feel better about the journey later.

So, after she disappeared to look inside the remains of the building, they looked around outside for someone by her description. They even asked some of the guards, though he got nervous every time they approached someone, if they'd seen the human. Most didn't even know who they were talking about, and only a few seemed to remember Damien. The rest told them to buzz off.

"No sign of him out here." Kratos said after a while.

"But he has to be somewhere!" Gabriel complained. They had to find him, if he could save this one person now... he would feel a lot better. If they failed... he didn't know if he could take that right now.

"Chosen! You can't save everyone." Kratos said a little sternly.

He cringed, he didn't like it when the man took that one. He felt like a child, and sure, he was only sixteen, but still, he didn't like the feeling. He was treated as an adult back home, because he always did everything he could to help everyone, including helping his mother pay for food and supplies. That was why he worked at the church so much. Would she and his brother be okay in his absence? There were other families he knew who would help them out, but... he couldn't help but worry. He looked at the ground.

"Gabriel, it's kind of a good thing none of the guards have seen Damien. If they had, he'd be rounded up with the other ranch prisoners." Artemis said softly.

"So... he might still be alive. And hasn't been caught yet." Gabriel said slowly.

"Sure, it's a possibility." Yuan said, but his tone suggested that he doubted the idea.

Gabriel smiled. "Thank you, Artemis. You always cheer me up." He said.

Artemis shook her head. "It's nothing, so you don't have to thank me. Let's just keep trying, okay?" She asked.

He nodded and they went about looking for Damien again. Eventually they ended up back where they started, but this time, they found him. Damien was very scrawny, his skin so pale it was almost translucent. All of his veins were clearly visible, and his jet black hair was in disarray. The boy looked up when he heard them approach and he cowered in fear, his grey eyes wide.

"Damien?" Artemis asked, approaching the boy slowly. He looked to be no older than fourteen years old, and was wearing ragged clothing. A small black gem was embedded into the skin of his hand.

The boy frowned for a moment and licked his lips. "Wh-who are you?" He asked, his voice cracked a little.

"My name is Artemis. We're friends of Yana. She asked us to look for you." Artemis answered with a calm smile.

The boy's eyes lit up and he smiled as he scrambled to get to his feet. "Really? She asked you to look for me?" He asked, excited.

"That's right. We're gonna help you get out of here." Artemis replied.

Gabriel was surprised by how well she handled this. Damien reached out a hand and Artemis took his hand gently in her own and led him towards the group. Okay, so they found Damien, how were they going to find Yana again? He had no idea, so they started walking.

The Desians weren't paying much attention, or at least, the guards in this area weren't paying much attention, so they were able to slip by them rather easily. When they were a considerable distance away from the ranch, Yana showed up. Damien jumped and scrambled away from her at first when she appeared from the shadows, but as soon as he realized it was her, he ran forward and hugged her. He was filthy, scrawny, wearing ragged clothing, but Yana didn't seem to care as she hugged him back.

"I'm glad you're alright." Yana said with a warm smile.

Damien nodded. "Yeah, it was horrible in there. They made us work until we passed out, and then they worked us some more. Our meals were sparse at best, and almost everyone has been whipped once." He said, not showing his face. His body was shaking and Gabriel could only guess the boy was silently sobbing.

"It's okay, you're safe now." Yana crooned at him, stroking his hair. She looked up at them. "I'd like to thank you for helping me get Damien out of there." She said. "As I said, I'll help you get to the village safely."

* * *

Although Yana seemed like a trustworthy person, Kratos was still wary of her. She was unknown and could either be of help to them or be a hindrance. Thankfully though, she didn't seem the type to try anything funny, and she was just leading them along silently. Her friend Damien was staying very close to her, seeming afraid of them, but also grateful that they had helped him get away from the Desians. Gabriel and Artemis were both being very quiet and when he looked, he noticed that Yuan was walking at the back of their group, shooting suspicious glares at Yana's back.

But it was a good thing it was so quiet. If it hadn't been, he might not have been able to hear the monsters approaching them. Kratos drew his sword quietly. "Be on your guard, there are monsters." He said.

Up ahead, Yana drew her blades and pushed Damien behind her. "Stay with Gabriel and Artemis." She told the boy, who nodded and withdrew into the middle of the group.

Yuan had his Swallow at the ready and was looking for any signs of the monsters nearby. Gabriel looked as alarmed as ever when they got into a fight, while Damien clung to him. And Artemis seemed to be charging her mana for a spell.

There was rustling in the brush on his left side and Kratos turned to face it just as a large black wolf came charging out at him. He dodged to the side and slashed his blade along the wolf's side. It yelped in pain, but clearly wasn't fatally wounded as it turned back to glare at him. "Demon Fang!" Kratos called out, sending a wave of mana at the beast.

"Lightning!" Yuan cast the spell on a monster on the other side.

He heard a wolf cry out and then vaguely heard the sound of it dying before he had to focus on his own opponent again. The wolf charged forward and Kratos dug his feet into the ground to prepare himself. At almost the last second, he lunged forward and thrust forward with his sword. "Super Lightning Blade!" He called out. The wolf made to bite him, but Kratos twisted his arm at just the right moment so that the blade sunk deep into the monster's chest and the bolt of lightning jolted through the beast's body. It dispersed into mana immediately after the attack.

"Holy!" Artemis blasted back a wolf that had gotten too close to her.

"Infernal Prison!" Yana's voice called out from a little distance away. Kratos looked over and saw the monster being incinerated in the magic circle. It was an impressive bit of magic. Yana charged forward and slashed in an 'X' formation with her swords, killing the monster.

"Damn monsters never give up, do they?" Yuan asked bitterly as he put his weapon away.

"Tch! Of course not. It's not every day people willingly walk through this forest." Yana said to him, one brow raised. "Anyway, we're gonna need to find shelter for the night. I know a place where it's safe." She said.

"Oh? And how is it you know of this safe place?" Yuan asked.

Kratos gave him a look telling him to let it go, but of course his friend never noticed, or rather, never bothered to follow his silent advice. Yana sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmm... let's see here. Maybe it's because I actually travel through this forest on a regular basis?" She replied, sarcasm dripping in her tone. "Or maybe I just like to lure hapless travelers like yourselves to an untimely doom." She shrugged.

"Why you-!" Yuan began to stomp towards her, but Kratos held out an arm and stopped him.

"Yuan, drop it." He said sternly. "Yana, lead the way, please." He turned to her and she nodded, continuing to lead the way like she'd been doing before.

Finally after what felt like hours, they reached a clearing. Sunlight was filtering through the treetops here in a circular formation with strange yellow and red flowers growing all along the edge of the clearing. Yana led Damien into the middle of it and looked back at them. "This is it. We should be safe here until morning." She told them.

Yuan raised a brow skeptically at the clearing. "Really?"

Kratos shot a look at him at the same time as Yana turned to look at him as well. She crossed her arms and glared. "Is there a problem?" She asked.

"What're a bunch of flowers going to do to keep us safe from the monsters? Look pretty at them? Annoy them with their sweet aroma?" Yuan scoffed. "We'd be better off camping in the trees."

Yana laughed at him. "If you want to do that, fine. But I'll have you know, most of the monsters here know how to climb. And these flowers... for your information, they produce a spore that keeps monsters _away_." She said. "But if you want to ignore the safety here, by all means, sleep in a tree and get yourself killed by monsters." She waved a hand dismissively at him.

"You insolent little-!" Yuan began before he was cut off by Kratos and Artemis stepping between them.

"Enough Yuan." Kratos said, giving him that dangerous look again.

Yuan huffed, but folded his arms over his chest and looked away. But he looked back at Yana as she was talking to Damien, who, in turn, was looking back and forth at each of them.

"Yana... you should be nicer to people you're related to." The boy said.

"As if I'm related to that stuck up-!" Kratos heard her start. And if he could hear her, so could Yuan. He sighed, knowing they were only going to get riled up again. Maybe he should let them resolve their issues? Whatever they were.

"My last name is Ka-Fai." Yuan said simply. Yana's head shot in his direction, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion. "And the last time I checked, every last member of my family died before the end of the Kharlan War." Yuan added, glaring at her.

Yana took a deep breath and looked away from him. "I was born the year before the war ended. My mother, Ysmir Ka-Fai, asked a friend to raise me in her stead. She was dying of an illness." She said.

Kratos saw the look on Yuan's face, there was a wide array of emotions being displayed there. He'd never heard Yuan speak of his family before, except when he mentioned the name of his mother. That had been many years ago, but this girl claimed to be the last child born to Yuan's mother before her death. "Where did this friend raise you?" He asked.

Yana looked over, a sad look on her face. "She brought me to one of the hidden villages and raised me there." She answered.

Kratos nodded slowly, that explained a lot, like how she was so good at sneaking around. "I'm going to get some firewood." He announced after the silence that ensued. Without waiting for a reply, he walked off into the forest a bit to find firewood. It would get cold at night, and they would need the warmth. Right now he was glad they weren't in Flanoir. The new information made him wonder what was going through Yuan's head at this moment. After all, if Yana's claims were true, and she didn't seem to be lying, she was the very last living member of his family. It was a pretty big thing.

He gathered as much firewood as he could carry and finally turned back. Already this journey was not going as expected.

* * *

**And I have to leave you there... sadly... sadly. I'm still experiencing a sort of Writer's Block, but I managed to choke this out, and have started working on a fifth chapter already. But I don't think I'll be uploading any new chapters until after the Holidays so...**

**Screw being politically correct! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy New Year's! And any other Holiday you celebrate at this time of year!**


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